Detachable emergency traction-shoe for automobiles.



R. C. MOGEERY.

DETAGHABLE EMERGENCY TRAGTION SHOE FOR AUTOMGBILES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 1913.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

ROBERT MGCREERY, OF ERICK, OKLAHOMA.

DETACHABLE EMERGENCY `'JRAC'ILION-SHOE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct- 2o, 1914.

Application led November 15, 1913. Serial No. 801,230.

T0 all 'whom tmay concern.

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. MCGREERY, citizen of the United States, residing at Erick, in the county of Beckham and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new andl useful .Improvements in. Detachable Emergency Traction-Shoes for Automobiles, ,of which the following is a speciiication.

The present invention relates tonew. andv useful improvements in detachable, emergency traction shoes for automobile, and other vehicle tires,'the object of my invention being to provide Aa traction shoe` which may be readily applied to or removed from a vehicle wheel without the necessity of leaving the vehicle.

Selfpropelled vehicles oftentimes become' stalled, due to sinking of one or the other of the rear` orpropelling wheels of the ve-v hicleinto deep mud or sand as under such lcircumstances the wheel or wheels so partiallyr buried in the mud or sand do not possess sufficient tractive force to free them-y selfes therefrom, the wheels spinning-with out advancing. This is partially due to the fact that-a wheel so buried, in order to vroll to advance the vehicle, must, in effect, roll up an incline in getting out of the mud or sandonto the surrounding level. these circumstances, the poor tractiveV en.- gagement of the ordinary tireV with the slippery surface of the mud or sandis insuili cient to force the wheel overeven the smallest incline. Under such circumstances, it is now customary to either jackthewheelup car clear 4of the trouble. At times, when :so stalled, they driver ofthe c'ar is forced to wind the wheel `with rope or to attach traction devices to the wheel-or tire;l

plied to one or more of the wheels of the. vel hicle without dismounting from :the car and which -rnay be as readily removed after the vehicle has been eXtricated-\from Athe mudholeorsand.

In this connection, a-'further objctiof'my invention is to construct the tractionwsh'oe in twoparts hingedly connectedf 1n such Under To thev best of my knowledge such :traction .devicesnecessitate the dismounting, from the' car,

of the person applying them which'is a sef a manner that it may be employed upon vehicle wheels diilering somewhat in size and having tires of varying diameters.

A further object of my invention is to so hinge the members of the shoe together that the hinges themselves serve as additional traction lugs for increasing the tractive effeet of the shoe as a whole.

A still further objectof my invention is to so construct the body members of the traction shoe that they will lockingly engagev the rim of the wheel to which they are applled to prevent all rocking movement or all not be passed through any small bolt re-.

ceiving hole, but merely swung into a slot. And a still further object of my invention is to so mount the bolt upon one of the body members that While it is free for swinging ymovement its swinging `movement will be restricted and any totaldisengagement of the bolt from the member upon which it is swinging'ly mounted prevented.

Viththese and other objects in view, my invention will be more `tully described, illus- `trated in the accompanying drawing, and

then speci-cally pointed out iny the claims which are attached to and formV a part of this application. out of the mud-hole or to :otherwise lift the In the drawing: Figure lis a fragmentary perspective: View, showing my improved 'traction shoe applied to a conventional form of sel-f4propelled vehiclewheel; Fig. y2' is a transverse sectional view taken on the line A-2-.-2 of Fig. 1, showing more clearly. the

lmanner in whichnthe shoe is fitted about the tire and-ri1n ofthel wheel; Fig. '3 is aperspective view-,ofthe shoe removed from the ing shown in unassembled position. l Corresponding and like parts are referred 4to =in the following description and indicated in all the: views ofthe drawing by the jsamereference characters.

'. 100 wheel, the parts of the shoe in this figure bere.

In order to insure a clearY and complete;

understandi'ng of my invention and its usev 'lhave- 1illustrated-my traction shoe in conlnection with a lconventional 'form of vehicle ywheel :of the type commonlyused upon self-'propelled vehicles, this l Wheel includ- -ing spokes 11, a felly12 and a clencher rim 13, the peripheral edges of which extend beyond the sides of the felly, as best shown in Fig 2. A pneumatic tire 14 is mounted about the rim 13 and my traction shoe, in-

dicated as a whole by the numeral 15, 1s adapted for detachable application about a portion of 'this tire and rim.

This traction shoe consists broadly of two y 17, each preferably castv in a single piece from malleable iron or other Suitable metal. Each of these members is curved longitudinally to 'conform substantially to the peripheral curvature of the wheel upon which the device is tov be used and each is curved transversely to conformto the transverse curvature of the type of tire employed upon such wheel. As' best shown in Fig. 3 of the 2'0 drawing, these body members are each substantially triangular in shape and to secure the best results should not cover over onel fth ofthe tire tread when in place, but one of the traction devices being employed upon That edge of the body member 16 which abuts against the corresponding edge of the body member 17 when the device is in place upon the wheel, is provided adjacent each end with a squared opening or slot 18 adapt' ed to receive one df the pintle lugs 19 correspondingly formed upon the adjacent edge of the section or bodyv member 17. The

edge portion of the body member 16, adjacent'each of these slots'18, is thickened as shown at 2O and provided with undercut grooves or channels 21 communicating with the slots 18, the result being that the edge portion of the body member adjacent the openings 18 are raised somewhat to receive the shank portions of the pintle lugs 19 so that they will not cause injury to the tire when the traction shoe is in place. Each of the traction lugs includes a body portion or shank terminating at its free end in an upwardly directed extension or head 22 which projects through the corresponding opening or slot 18 when the shoe is assembled. lBoth the upper and lower faces of this head. are beveled or inclinedv as shown to permit pivotal movement of the pintle lug in lits opening or slot, this beveling being clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawlng. y

It will be clearly apparent that the traction shoe formed in twoparts hingedly joined by slot and pintle lug connections in the manner described, is capable of adjustment for use upon tires of varying diameters as the free edges or ends of the shoe sections may be readily swung toward and awa from each other. The pintle lu s are pre erably formed with heads of su cient size to serve as traction lugs for the shoe as e5 additional tractive force is obtained by this symmetrically formed body members 16 and.

of said member.

construction anda more certain connection of the parts also insured.

As previously described,.the shoe members are curved transversely in conformance with the transverse curvature of the tire in order toengage snugly about the tire when the traction shoe is in place. These body members are so proportioned that their ,inner or narrower' ends extend beyond Vthe rim and felly of the wheel and said end portions are directed inwardly to bear snugly against the outer faces of the rim 13, after which they are extended in such a manner as to'lie insubstantially parallel relation to each otherwhen the shoe is in place.' Each of the body members is provided interiorly with an inwardly directed arcuate shoulder 231 for engagement beneath the projecting peri heral edge portions of the clencher rlm 13 w en the traction shoe is in place, the engagement of these shoulders with the clencher rim being clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The free or inner end of one of the body members, preferably that body member having the slots 18, is provided with a squared slot or opening 24, the upper and lower faces of which are inclined inwardly and downwardly as shown at 25 in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The corresponding' end of the opposite body member is provided with a slot 26 which opens through the inner edge In' order to firmly fasten the traction shoe in place upon the tire, a bolt 27 and nut 28 are employed. This bolt is passed through the squared slot 24 until' its head 29 engages the outer face of the shoe member 16 and when the shoe has been applied, may be swung to seat its free end in the slot 26 of the opposite shoe member.

The nut 28-is then threaded upon the bolt and turned home to draw the inner ends of the shoe members toward each other and bring their shoulders 23 into firm locking engagement beneath the rim of the wheel. This drawing together of the inner ends of the shoe members also serves to draw the pintle lugs into close engagement with the edge portions of the body member 16 adjacent the slots 18. The shoe members are therefore rml held against any movement independent o each other and also against any movement with respect to the wheel tire to which they are applied. l In order to prevent casual disengagement of the bolt 27 from the shoe member 16 which carries it, the bolt shank adjacent its head is preferably threaded to receive a guard nut 30, this nut, in use, being spaced a sufricient distance from the head 29 of the bolt to permit the bolt to swing freely in the squared opening or slct 24. The inclined upper and lower edges 25 of this slot permit free inward swinging of thefree end of the bolt, but at the same time limit such swingwhich it is carried, these traction lugs be-y ing preferably formed upon the body members in such a manner that the lugs of one are symmetrically disposed with respect to the lugs of the other, although the lugs of each row are disposed in staggered 'relation with respect to the lugs of another row upon the same section. These lugs may be either cast integrally with the body members of the shoe or separately formed and later secured to the shoe in any suitable li'llllilnel'. shoe members from malleable iron, it will of course be understood that any other suitable metal may be employed or that the shoe members may be' stamped or otherwise formed from sheet steel of sucient weight. ln this latter construction, the lugs will, of course, be separately formed and riveted or otherwise secured in place.

lt will be clear that no straps or other fastening devices of like nature, which are liable to become rotted through use or broken through excessive strain, are employed with this device.

rlFhe operation, or rather the application of my improved traction shoe, will be clearly understood from the above description, taken in connection with the drawing.

When it becomes necessary to apply the Y traction shoe, the driver may position the same by standing upon the running-board of the vehicle, or with some vehicles, by merely leaning from the seat. In applying the shoe that shoe member having the hinge slots or openings 18, is irst ositioned upon the tire with its inner end earing agalnst the inner side of the tire, the shoe, of course for the sake of convenience, being applied to that ortion of the wheel which is uppermost. he other shoe section is then moved to place and its lower end tilted outwardly somewhat to permit the assage of its pintle lugs through the channe s 21 communicating with the openings 18 to hingedly connect the two sections together. The driver then reaches between 4adjacent spokes of the wheel to grasp the bolt 27 and swing its free end upwardly through the slot 26 when thenut 28 is turned home.

As previously mentioned, the free swinging o the bolt 27 is somewhat limited and for this reason the bolt is always within easy Although l preferably cast they reach of the driver when applying the shoe. As soon as the vehicle has been extricate'd from the mud-hole or sand, the shoe should be removed, this being readily accomplished by merely loosening the nut 28 and lifting the shoe from place.

Although l have illustrated my improved traction shoe in all its details, it will of course be understood that I do not wish in any way to limit myself to the specific features of construction illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification or .to the employment of any particular materials in its manufacture, as various minor changes, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made at any time without in the slightest degree departing from the spirit of my invention.

Havin thus described the invention, what is c aimed as new is:

1. A tractor shoe for vehicle wheels including hinged-ly connected body members adapted to encircle a tire and having ends adapted to extend inwardly beyond the rim of a wheel, one of said ends being apertured and the other slotted, a bolt assed through the apertured end and ree to swing therein, a nut loosely threaded on the bolt to prevent disengagement of the bolt through the aperture, and a clamping nut threaded on the bolt to enga e the outer face of the slotted end ofthe ot er body member where by the free ends of the body members may be drawn toward each other.

2. A tractor shoe for vehicle wheels including a pair of hingedly connected metallic. body members shaped to conform to the peripheral contour of a tire, the free ends of said bod members being ada ted to extend iriwar 1y beyond the elly o the wheel and being slotted, the slot in the end of one of said body members oplening through such end, while the slot in t e end of the other body member is a closed slot having its uper and lower walls similarly inclined downwardly and inwardly, a bolt passed through said latter slot and free to swing therein because of such inclination of its walls, said bolt being adapted to swing at its free end to extend in the other slot, and

a clamping nut on `the bolt.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature 1n presence of two witnesses. i

ROBERT o. MCCREERY. l' [Le] Witnesses SAMUEL N. AoKEn, J. D. YOAKLEY. 

